title: Optimizing the ingredients for imagery-based interpretation bias modification for depressed mood: is self-generation more effective than imagination alone?
abstract: Negative interpretation is thought to be crucial in the development and maintenance of depression. Recently developed cognitive bias modification paradigms, intending to change these biases towards a more optimistic interpretation tendency (CBM-I), seem to offer new promising implications for cognitive therapy innovation. This study aimed to increase our knowledge of the underlying mechanisms of action of imagery-based CBM-I in the context of depressed mood. We therefore compared the efficacy of CBM-I requiring participants to imagine standardized positive resolutions to a novel, more active training version that required participants to generate the positive interpretations themselves. Fifty-four participants were randomly allocated to (1) standardized CBM-I, (2) self-generation CBM-I or (3) a control group. Outcome measures included self-report mood measures and a depression-related interpretation bias measure. Both positive training variants significantly increased the tendency to interpret fresh ambiguous material in an optimistic manner. However, only the standardized imagery CBM-I paradigm positively influenced mood.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cognitive Psychology, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
authors.forename: Heike
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Rohrbacher
authors.forename: Simon E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Blackwell
authors.forename: Emily A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Holmes
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Reinecke
mesh_terms: D000339:Affect; D003071:Cognition; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D019018:Imagery, Psychotherapy / Q000379:methods*; D007092:Imagination; D008297:Male; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Cognitive bias modification; Cognitive processing; Depression; Interpretation bias; Mental imagery